The appeal, filed in state Superior Court in Danbury this month by Residents for Responsible Zoning calls the commission's 5-to-4 vote in May to expand retail zoning to the road "unreasonable, illegal, capricious'' and an abuse of the commission's power.

Thomas Beecher, the attorney representing the commission, said Tuesday he would vigorously defend the commission's actions in court.

"I don't find anything in the appeal that has any teeth,'' Beecher said.

At issue is the commission's decision on May 14 to allow retail development along nearly a mile of Route 7 from the Danbury-Ridgefield town line to a block south of Route 35.

There is now commercial development along the road -- predominantly small restaurants and car dealerships -- as well as a smattering of retail stores that established themselves through exceptions to the town's zoning code.

The commission reasoned that it would be better to have an established zoning code for the strip that would allow limited retail development. No store along the strip would be larger than 8,000 square feet and no collection of stores could be larger than 20,000 square feet.

Working in conjunction with the town's Economic Development Commission, the Planning and Zoning Commission also said that allowing retail development would help the town's tax base and encourage new businesses to spring up to serve people commuting along the road.

However, opponents of the plan are adamant that any new stores along Route 7 would only drain business from those already established in the center of town and discourage people from turning off Route 7.

Helen Dimos, spokeswoman for Citizens for Responsible Zoning, said the town already has an established retail area in the Main Street/Cobb's Hill area. It's also trying to encourage development in the Branchville section, near the train station.

"The town doesn't need a third retail area,'' she said.

Dimos also said the group -- which is being led by Dimos, Wayne Addessi, Ellen Burns and Joseph Heyman -- also believes a collection of new stores along the stretch of Route 7 would slow traffic on the road as people turn into parking lots, then exit into the speeding traffic.

Dimos said Heyman, a former member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, did an analysis that shows one out of every three cars would be exiting or entering Route 7 from the new retail stores if they are built.

At two public hearings on the plan, public opinion was strongly against the change. The commission ignored that opinion when it approved the expansion of retail zoning, Dimos said.

"We think their decision was irresponsible and precipitous,'' Dimos said. "It was done without a thorough study.''